NASA Set to Launch a Blue Ghost to the Moon

Firefly Aerospace’s lunar lander will deliver a suite of NASA science equipment to the moon’s Mare Crisium basin.

Wednesday, January 08, 2025 at 02:41 PM ET

Verified

A digital rendering illustrates Blue Ghost’s descent to the lunar surface on Blue Ghost Mission 1. [Courtesy: Firefly Aerospace]

Key Takeaways:

Firefly Aerospace's Blue Ghost Mission 1, launching with SpaceX, is NASA's maiden lunar lander under the Commercial Lunar Payload Services (CLPS) program, targeting the moon's Mare Crisium basin.
The mission will carry 10 NASA science instruments to study lunar soil, geography, and weather, collecting data crucial for preparing for the Artemis III human return to the moon.
Originally scheduled for late 2023 but delayed to early 2025, this mission is the first of several planned Blue Ghost lander deployments, demonstrating commercial capabilities for lunar scientific exploration.

See a mistake? Contact us.

The moon’s Mare Crisium, thought to have been molded billions of years ago by volcanic activity, is a vast, haunting landscape. It’s only fitting that NASA is sending a Blue Ghost to explore it.

The space agency and contractors SpaceX and Firefly Aerospace are targeting Wednesday at 1:11 a.m. EST for Blue Ghost Mission 1—the maiden lunar voyage of Firefly’s Blue Ghost lander. The approximately two-month mission will fly a suite of NASA science equipment to study the Oklahoma-sized lunar basin. The data it collects could lay the groundwork for humans to return to the moon for the first time since the Apollo era on the Artemis III mission, scheduled for mid-2027.

Jack Daleo

Jack is a staff writer covering advanced air mobility, including everything from drones to unmanned aircraft systems to space travel—and a whole lot more. He spent close to two years reporting on drone delivery for FreightWaves, covering the biggest news and developments in the space and connecting with industry executives and experts. Jack is also a basketball aficionado, a frequent traveler and a lover of all things logistics.